NASCAR.com will have live lap-by-lap coverage of Winston Cup qualifying via the web

Second-Round Qualifying: there is no longer a 2nd round of qualifying

Track Qualifying Record: Rusty Wallace, Aug 1999, 121.234mph

Last Year's Pole Sitter: none due to inclement weather, Bobby Labonte started 1st as the Points Leader

Track Specs:
a 2.45-mile paved road course.
It has 11 turns with a variety of banking in turns ranging from 6 degrees to 10 degrees.
The length of the frontstretch is 2,150 feet and the length of the backstretch is 2,600 feet.
Watkins Glen International has hosted the Global Crossing at The Glen since 1986.

RACE BONUS INFO

The NASCAR Winston Cup Leader Bonus is $10,000 at Watkins Glen for leading the points and winning the race (Jeff Gordon last won the award, $20,000 at Indy on Aug 5, 2001). The $360,000 annual award is paid at $10,000 per race to the point leader at the end of each event if he is also the winner. The award increases by $10,000 each week the it goes unclaimed. If the point leader is not the race winner at the end of the year, the balance of the award is distributed among the top-10 finisher in the point
standings(8-5-2001)

IN-CAR AUDIO SITES

Fans Can Online(NASCAR Online)
looks like this is all that there is out there now....

PREVIEW, FACT SHEETS and MISC News

Pfizer at Watkins Glen: For the second straight year, Pfizer Inc. will bring a 50-foot trailer, not will race cars or equipment, but a medical screening room. Men attending this weekend’s Global Crossing @ The Glen can receive a free screening at the midway in the Men’s Health Tune Up For Life hauler. Included in the screening is a complete lipid profile and glucose exam, blood pressure check and sexual health inventory. More than 14,000 men have taken part already this year. The rig will be set up through Sunday..(The Leader)(8-9-2001)

Watkins Glen Facts: There have been 18 NASCAR Winston Cup Series races at Watkins Glen, 15 in the modern era. The first race there was in 1957 and the circuit returned in 1964 and 1965. There has been one NASCAR Winston Cup Series race at Watkins Glen each season since 1986. Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt (three each) along with Terry Labonte (two) are the only drivers with more than one Bud Pole at Watkins Glen. The race at Watkins Glen has been won from the pole in seven of the 18 races. Mark Martin won the race at Watkins Glen from the Bud Pole three consecutive years: 1993-1995. There have been 12 different winners in the 18 NASCAR Winston Cup Series races at Watkins Glen. The furthest back a winner has started in the 18-race history at Watkins Glen is 18th by Steve Park in 2000. A Chevrolet has won eight of the 18 NASCAR Winston Cup Series races at Watkins Glen, including the last four. Ford has five victories while Pontiac has three. Buick and Mercury have one each..(NASCAR PR)(8-7-2001)

QUALIFYING, PRACTICE and RESULTSnews and links

Gordon gets 4th win at Watkins Glen: #24-Jeff Gordon wins his 4th career race at Watkins Glen and 7th road course win. It was Gordon's 5th win of 2001 and 57th career Winston Cup win. The rest of the top five were: 2) #99-Jeff Burton; 3) #12-Jeremy Mayfield; 4) #28-Ricky Rudd; and #66-Todd Bodine. Robby Gordon had a fire in the #31 Lowes Chevy, the telemetry box used by NBC to monitor rpms, speed and braking reportedly caught on fire when the batteries used to power it came out (see a Gaston Gazette Column on this: Robby Gordon falls prey to high-tech sabotage. Jeff Gordon increases his points lead to 194 points over #28-Rudd. #88-Dale Jarrett had two runs with the 'kitty litter' and is now 265 points behind Gordon in 3rd place. See for race column - Gordon gets 2nd win in a row, Unofficial Results and Unofficial Standings(8-12-2001)

A New All Time NASCAR Record set at Watkins Glen, most career wins. Jeff Gordon now have seven career road course wins, now one ahead of Rusty Wallace, Richard Petty and Bobby Allison, who each have six career road-course wins(8-12-2001)

Happy Hour Practice is over: the top five were:
#87-Fellows 120.815mph
#31-R Gordon 120.584
#88-Jarrett 120.584
#24-Gordon 120.395
#2-Wallace 120.314
slowest was #27-Mast 117.034mph
#21-Sadler and #26-Spencer both got off course into the gravel, but no damage to either car. See for Saturday's final practice speeds(8-11-2001)

Did ya know? Despite the annual influx of road-course aces, a second-place finish two years ago by Ron Fellows is the only top five by a non-regular since 1986, when NASCAR returned after an absence of 21 years.(Daytona Beach News Journal)(8-11-2001)

Surprise! Jarrett wins the pole at Watkins Glen for the Global Crossing @ the Glen. #88-Dale Jarrett wins the pole with a new track record of 122.698mph (old record was 121.234mph set in 1999 byRusty Wallace), on the outside pole is #28-Ricky Rudd at 122.301mph. It was Jarrett's first road course pole in 31 road course starts(thanks Matt of CNN/SI). It is Jarrett's 3rd Bud Pole of the year (Dover doesn't count as he was awarded the first starting position due to weather and being the points leader at the time). Thirteen drivers broke the old track record. #68-Anthont Lazarro will make his Winston Cup debut Sunday in the #68 Ford, starting 31st. Missing the race were two teams out of provisionals: #7-Mike Wallace(32nd in owners points) and #44-Wally Dallenbach/Buckshot Jones(Dallenbach gets the DNQ). Defending Watkins Glen winner, #1-Steve Park took a provisional as his brake system failed before he went out to qualify and made no attempt. #90-Brian Simo and #27-Rick Mast were able to use provisonals even thought they were deep in owners points as the #7 and #44 were out. #92-Stacy Compton is now out of provisionals until the race at Bristol (in two weeks), so five teams are now out (#'s 4,7,14,44,92). See for the Global Crossing @ The Glen Lineup and a column: Dale Jarrett wins pole; Rudd also on front row(8-10-2001)

Some Qualifying Notes: #32-Ricky Craven drove off course on his lap but was able to complete his lap(107.732). #4-Kevin Lepage was due to be the 3rd driver out but had a transmission problem in practice and went out 20th after the crew made repairs. In an odd occurrence, a course worker who waves cars who just qualified into an access road, waved the yellow flag at #90-Brian Simo DURING his qualifying lap causing Simo to slow down(Simo ran 113.740mph). NASCAR allowed the car to cool down, put on new tires and go out as the final qualifier, where Simo was 37th fastest at 119.536mph and had to use a provisional. #1-Steve Park had brake problems before he was to go out and qualify, the team ran out of time and didn't get to run a qualifying lap and will use a provisional, a driver just needs to practice the car to be eligible to use a provisional, does not need to make a qualifying run(8-10-2001)

Saturday AM Practice: #24-Jeff Gordon was the fastest with 121.056mph followed by #88-Dale Jarrett at 120.923. Slowest was #36-Ken Schrader at 116.473. See for Saturday's early practice speeds

Pole Progression at Watkins Glen, 4 drivers have been on the pole so far:
#36-Ken Schrader, went out 1st to qualify, 119.733mph, will start 32nd
#6-Mark Martin, out 4th, 120.974, will start 15th
#25-Jerry Nadeau, out 5th, 122.235, will start 3rd
#88-Dale Jarrett, out 14th, 122.698, will start on the pole(1st)
(8-10-2001)

Friday Practice at Watkins Glen. Fastest was #28-Ricky Rudd with a speed of 122.989mph, with the 2nd fastest being #20-Tony Stewart at 122.768mph. Slowest was #27-Rick Mast at 118.418. #44-Wally Dallenbach drove the car for Buckshot Jones and will qualify it. 14 drivers were faster then the track record set in 1999 by Rusty Wallace, a speed of 121.234mph. See for the Friday's Winston Cup practice speeds(8-10-2001)

Qualifying Order is up for Watkins Glen, see above for the links. 45 cars are listed to make attempts. First scheduled out is #36-Ken Schrader, last scheduled out is #9-Bill Elliott. Four teams are out of provisionals: #4-Lepage, #7-Wallace, #14-Hornaday and #44-Jones. See info about Provisionals on my Provisional Rules/Status page. These drivers/team could still make the race, how? The question? What happens if at least 43 cars attempt a race but more then one team is out of provisionals and fails to qualify for the race with still a spot open in the field? The Answer: If one or a few of the teams without provisionals fail to get in on speed, then the part time teams(don't attempt all races and are deep in the OWNERS points) get a shot at the provisionals, lining up by Owners Points. If spots are still available, then the teams without provisionals get placed in the field by fastest qualifying speed until all 43 spots are filled.(as noted on my Provisional Rules/Status page and my Racing FAQ page).(8-10-2001)

Entry List is Up: See above for link. 45 cars/drivers/teams are listed. Including many road course specialists: #01-Scott Pruett in for Jason Leffler, #77-Boris Said in for Robert Pressley, #90-Brian Simo in for Hut Stricklin, and #87-Ron Fellows (who won the July BGN race at The Glen) and #68-Anthony Lazarro(8-7-2001)

Qualifying Rules Changed UPDATE: ESPN2's RPM 2Night mentioned tonight that starting at New Hampshire that qualifying would consist of one lap of qualifying instead of the two laps that have been run this year. The exceptions are tracks smaller then one mile (Bristol, Richmond and Martinsville) and the two restrictor plate tracks, Daytona and Talladega(7-5-2001)UPDATE: it was mentioned on FSN's Totally NASCAR show on Thurs that the Cup drivers would run 2 laps of Qualifying for the New England 300 at New Hampshire. The plan is to still have one lap of qualifying at all intermediate tracks (1 to 2 miles in length) but the format will be determined in a track-to-track basis for the rest of the season(7-19-2001)

an interesting point: When NASCAR officials decided to disallow Jerry Nadeau's qualifying time at Daytona in Feb 2001, it raised an interesting question. With the Winston Cup series having only one round of qualifying the rest of the season, what happens if an unapproved part is found? According to NASCAR, drivers no longer have to post an official qualifying time to use a provisional, they only have to practice. So a driver could have a penalty on a qualifying issue but still have access to one of the seven provisionals for the race(Richmond Times Dispatch)(2-11-2001)

How to break a tie during qualifying?(same speed/time) When drivers are tied for a starting spot during qualifying, it is broken by owners points standings(not drivers). For provisionals standings see the Jayski's Provisional Status page

TRACK/RACE NEWS

Watkins Glen Grand Marshal: Watkins Glen International President Bryan R. Sperber announced that Brock Yates, one of the most well-known and respected automotive journalists, will serve as Grand Marshal for the upcoming Global Crossing @ The Glen NASCAR Winston Cup Series race. Yates, a resident of Wyoming, NY, will recite the four most famous words in motorsports, "Drivers, start your engines," to the 43 participating drivers during pre-race ceremonies on August 12. Yates is currently a featured columnist for "Car and Driver" magazine and a commentator for the "Speedvision" Motorsports Cable Network and has achieved recognition in the fields of magazine writing, books, screenwriting and television commentary. Yates is the originator and organizer of the famed "Cannonball Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dashes" and the more recent, internationally-recognized "One Lap of America" endurance event. He is the author of the screenplays for "The Cannonball Run" and "Smokey and the Bandit II" and his books include "The Decline and Fall of the American Automobile Industry", "Dead in the Water", "Sunday Driver" and "Outlaw Machine." Yates has written extensively for "LIFE", "Sports Illustrated", "Playboy", "The Wall Street Journal", and "Reader's Digest." He is an active commentator on automotive industry matters and has appeared on a number of major television talk shows. Yates' journalism expertise hasn't gone unrecognized. He is the winner of the Ken Purdy Award for Automotive Journalism and a winner of the Playboy Magazine award for editorial excellence, as well as numerous other journalism prizes(Watkins Glen PR)(8-7-2001)

Dodge Rules Change: NASCAR officials announced today that modifications to the front air dam for the NASCAR Winston
Cup Series 2001 Dodge Intrepid will go into effect beginning with next weekend's NASCAR Winston Cup event at Indianapolis Motor
Speedway. This modification will allow Intrepid teams to extend their front air dam two inches forward below the bumper from the current
measurement. The front air dam is described as the area below the bumper. The bumper will remain in its standard position(NASCAR PR)(7-27-2001)

How to Calculate Track Speeds: use the formula Speed = Distance divided by Time. Distance is Track Length, and Lap Time into Hours. Once hour is 3600 seconds, so the calculation for a 48 second lap at Daytona(2.5 miles) would be: Speed = 2.5 x (3600/48), = 2.5 x 75 = 187.500mph. For a 19 second lap at Bristol(.533 miles): Speed = .533 x (3600/19), = .533 x 189.474 = a speed of 100.990mph

DRIVER/TEAM NEWS

Compton Gets Help at Watkins Glen: Add Melling Racing to the list of teams bringing road race specialists to this weekend's Global Crossing @ the Glen. Road racing veteran Bill Cooper will act as a consultant and spotter for Kodiak Dodge driver Stacy Compton. Cooper and Compton have worked together in the past, most recently preparing for the Dodge Dealers/Kragen 350 at Sears Point Raceway(Melling Racing PR)(8-9-2001)

Watkins Glen Double Duty: Kyle Petty and John Andretti are stepping out of their Dodge Intrepid R/Ts at Watkins Glen and into something a little bit sportier - a Porsche GT3R. They will team up with Orbit Racing and compete in the Bully Hill Vineyards 250 Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series race Friday night, August 10, one of three races slated during the Global Crossing @ The Glen NASCAR Winston Cup Series weekend August 9-12.(Watkins Glen PR)(7-31-2001)

Pruett to run at Watkins Glen UPDATE 2: on ESPN2's RPM 2Night, Scott Pruett announced he would drive a Cingular Dodge for Chip Ganassi. No word on if he'll drive the #01 Cingular Dodge that Jason Leffler drivers like Dorsey Schroader did at Sears Point with Leffler attempting (and missing) the race in the #04 Cingular Dodge(7-23-2001)UPDATE: hearing Leffler will sit out the Watkins Glen race and that Pruett will run the #01 Dodge(7-25-2001)UPDATE 2: Road racing driver for hire Scott Pruett will be driving the Chip Ganassi Racing-owned #01 Dodge at Watkins Glen for the Winston Cup event on Aug. 9. Jason Leffler, the regular driver, will be stepping aside for the event. Leffler also sat out last month's Winston Cup road course event at Sears Point Raceway when Dorcey Shroeder drove his car(NASCAR.com) and Leffler missed the race running the #04 Dodge(7-27-2001)

Robby Gordon back in the #31 at Pocono UPDATE:NASCAR.com reports that Robby Gordon, who is on a race-to-race basis with RCR to run the #31 Lowes Chevy, will be back in the car at Pocono next weekend(7-23-2001)UPDATE: FSN's Totally NASCAR reports that Robby Gordon will drive the #31 Lowes Chevy in the next three Cup races, Pocono, Indy (where he is testing) and Watkins Glen(7-24-2001)

Murry to drive at The Glen? UPDATE: Hearing that veteran road racer David Murry is in negotiations with a single-car Winston Cup operation to run a second car for him at Watkins Glen next month. An Atlanta resident, Murry last drove in a Cup race at Watkins Glen in 1999 for an ARCA team. He got in the show on time and ran as high as eighth, before suffering an oil line problem and finishing 36th. Along with fellow road racers Ron Fellows and Boris Said, Murry has been competing in both the American Le Mans Series and the Grand Am Series this season(7-11-2001)UPDATE: It appears David Murry's inclusion in the road course specialists group at Watkins Glen will not happen. The sports car ace, who last competed in a Winston Cup car at The Glen in 1999, apparently got real close to signing with a team, but the team's sponsor felt obligated to its full-time driver. Murry, however, will still be at The Glen this weekend for the Grand Am race and will likely network around the NASCAR garage, looking for any last minute driver changes(8-9-2001)

Fellows and Nemechek: NEMCO Motorsports announced today plans to compete in three NASCAR events with driver Ron Fellows this season. Fellows, who won the Rolex 24 at Daytona in February, will pilot the Nortel Networks #87 Chevy in next weekend's Savemart 350 Winston Cup Series event at Sears Point Raceway. From there, the team will move on to Watkins Glen for the BGN race on July 8, and the Winston Cup Series race on August 12. Bully Hill Vineyards will be the primary sponsor for both events at The Glen. Over the past three seasons, Fellows and Nemechek's team, led by Crew Chief Brian Pattie, have tallied two wins and a second in three tries in the BGN event at Watkins Glen, as well as a second-place finish in the 1999 Winston Cup Series race. Newcomers to the Sears Point event, Fellows insists the team's goal remains the same regardless of venue or series. "As always, whether it's Winston Cup or Busch, the main priority is to make the race," said Fellows. "I've raced at Sears Point in the Trans Am Series and in the Corvette, but this will be my first time in a Winston Cup car. We came out to Sonoma to test and were quite pleased with the result," Fellows added. "It's a very different track than Watkins Glen. It's a fun track because of the elevation changes, but generally, the corners are slower. You've really got to have a handle on shocks at Sears Point and Brian (Pattie) was able to accomplish that during the test." A Toronto, Ontario native, Fellows competes in the American Le Mans Series driving the GM Racing Corvette, as well as select NASCAR events with NEMCO Motorsports. Currently he is in France, competing with the GM Racing team in the 24 Hours of Le Mans(NEMCO Motorsports PR)(6-13-2001)

Simo in the #90 at Road Courses: Hills Bros Coffee Racing team owner Junie Donlavey has tabbed Trans-Am Series Champion Brian Simo (SIM o) to run the Hills Bros Coffee Ford at both Sears Point Raceway in June and Watkins Glen International in August. Looking at the opportunity to help his Hills Bros Coffee Racing team gain points in the standings, Stricklin supported the opportunity to put Simo behind the wheel. Simo is looking forward to getting back behind the wheel of the #90 car. "Junie Donlavey is the nicest man in racing," Simo said. "I appreciate the opportunity he's given me to get back in a Winston Cup car and I'm looking forward to working with the Hills Bros Coffee crew again. I think it's great that we'll be doing some testing prior to the Sears Point race. Hopefully, that will translate into a solid starting position, and then we'll just work it from there." Donlavey Racing is hoping to get the team's road-course car ready to test at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) in Alton, Va., prior to making the trip to Sears Point in June. Simo competed in the BGN events at Watkins Glen in 1997 and 1998. Both times, he was leading the race before suffering engine failure. His first Cup start came at Sears Point last June where he qualified 34th and finished 36th, despite a long pit stop to replace a broken gear(Keystone Marketing)(5-9-2001)

Lazarro to run road course: The TWC Motorsport, Ltd., Inc., NASCAR Winston Cup Chevrolet Monte Carlo will make its debut at both Sears Point and Watkins Glen this season. Anthony Lazzaro, who has won in everything he's run from WKA, Formula Fords, and including winning the 1999 Toyota Atlantic Championship, will bring his over 14 years of road course racing experience, to the two tracks he has had success with in the past as well. "I am excited to have the opportunity to get back into NASCAR again," Lazzaro said, "and I couldn't ask for a better team than TWC Motorsport, Ltd., Inc. I've known Tom (Coleman) for quite some time and he's always got the best equipment and a great crew. I won't sugar coat this…it isn't going to be easy; NASCAR is the premier series in North America. Qualifying for any race in Winston Cup is an enormous hurdle in itself. But once we finish testing, we'll have the information we need to make sure this car's ready for the big leagues. And if we can just make the field in both events, I see no reason why we can't compete nose-to-nose with those guys at Sears Point and Watkins Glen." Look for the #68 Chevrolet Monte Carlo during both races this season. Future plans also include running a limited NASCAR schedule next year with the hopes of competing full time in 2003 and beyond(TWC Motorsport PR)(5-1-2001)

Said to run the #77 at the Road Courses: Jasper Motorsports President Doug Bawel and Driver Robert Pressley announced today that long time road racer Boris Said will take over the driving duties of the #77 Ford for the two NASCAR Winston Cup road course events run this season. Said's first appearance for the Jasper team will be in June at Sears Point Raceway. He will also pilot the car during the event at Watkins Glen International in August ( NOT September as the PR had). "Boris is a road course specialist," said Pressley. "We need to do what's best for this Jasper team. That has always been our goal. When we needed a strong leader a couple of years ago, we went out and got (Crew Chief) Ryan Pemberton, because that's what we needed to do to make this team strong. It's my turn now to do what's best. I have every confidence that Boris's experience will make this worthwhile. And, I promise I'll be cheering on the team, because they are there every week rooting for me." Said, who competes full time in the SCCA Trans Am Series as well as the Speedvision World Challenge Series and the American LeMans Series, has seen the twists and turns of both Sears Point and Watkins Glen before. In 1998, he qualified fifth in Winston Cup regular Jimmy Spencer's car before relieving him during the race and finishing 20th. At Sears Point in 1999, Said posted the fastest time in practice but experienced engine failure in both qualifying sessions and was thus unable to make the field. He also encountered bad luck during last year's event when suspension problems put him out of the race on lap 26 of the 112-lap event.(Jasper Racing PR)(4-23-2001)

PAINT SCHEME NEWS

#17 Paint Scheme for Aug/Sept: The #17 DeWalt Ford will debut its New Products paint scheme which will run from Indianapolis through Dover. The paint scheme is an integration of the new product line and the designs submitted through the DEWALT 2002 Paint Scheme contest. The winners were Robert Williams Lutherville, MD and Brian Grossman of Cincinnati, OH. This scheme will run thru the Sept June race at Dover(Grandstand PR)(7-31-2001)

STATS and STUFF

Bodine - 27 races - no DNF UPDATE: #11-Brett Bodine has been running at the end of 27 consecutive races(counting last season), which is the circuit's longest active streak. Two other drivers have made all the races in 2001 and not DNF'd(did not finish): 9-Bill Elliott and #55-Bobby Hamilton(8-5-2001)

Top Fives: There have been 29 different Cup drivers(no new drivers at Indy) who have scored a Top-5 so far in 2001....2000's total was 28, 1999's total was 28 and 1998's total number was 27(8-5-2001)

Top Tens: There have been 39 different Cup drivers(no new drivers at Indy) who have scored a Top-10 in 2001.....2000's total was 41, 1999's total was 40 and 1998's total number was 41(8-5-2001)

Provisional Finishes in 2001: In 133 provisional starts(19 races x 7 no qualifying at Darlington 3/2001 or Dover 6/2001), drivers have accumulated 1 Win, 5 Top 5's and 16 Top 10's. #2-Rusty Wallace was the highest provisional starter at Indy with a 4th. See my Provisional Finishes Page for each race finish by the provisionals starters(8-5-2001)

No Laps Lead by Labonte yet: #5-Terry Labonte remains the only driver to race in all 21 events this season and not lead at least one lap. The last time Labonte led a lap was the Winston 500 last October at Talladega(). See my Bonus Points/Laps Led page(8-7-2001)

Consecutive Winston Cup Starts: Ricky Rudd is the current leader with with 629 consecutive starts followed by Rusty Wallace at 538, Ken Schrader with 508 and Mark Martin has 422 consecutive Cup starts. Terry Labonte had 655 (and holds the all time record) but sat out the 2000 Brickyard 400 to end his record streak. Dale Earnhardt had 648 consecutive Winston Cup starts until his death at Daytona(8-5-2001)

2000 winners who have not won in 2001: Mark Martin, Ward Burton, Jeremy Mayfield, Matt Kenseth and Jerry Nadeau. Terry Labonte, Joe Nemechek and John Andretti earned victories in 1999 and have not won since.(8-5-2000)

No Top Fives Since.... It has been a while since some drivers have had a top five finish on the Winston Cup circuit. Here are those with the longest streak of races without a top-five finish:

All Time Record is Richard Petty - 18 years from 1960-1977
(info from UMI Official NASCAR Preview and Press Guides
and Winston Cup Updates)(8-5-2001)

Top 10's in restrictor plates: Only two drivers have finished in the top 10 in the three restrictor plate races run so far in 2001 (Daytona - twice and Talladega): #8-Dale Earnhardt Jr (2nd at Daytona, 8th at Talladega, 1st at Daytona) and #7-Mike Wallace (6th at Daytona, 9th at Talladega, 10th at Daytona in the Pepsi 400). Only one more to go, Talladega in October(7-7-2001)

Interesting UPDATE: In the past four Winston Cup seasons, the top 10 in points after seven races has provided a good indication of which drivers will be in the top 10 at season's end - 33 of 40 drivers in the final top 10s were there seven races into the season: see the chart at : Signs of things to come?UPDATE: and an addition to the story: Others in early season points peril by David Poole(4-6-2001)

A Championship Outlook: Only five times in the modern era(1972-present) has the eventual champion not won in the first six races. The winners in the first 6 eaces this year: Michael Waltrip, Steve Park, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Dale Jarrett and Elliott Sadler. When did a driver win the Championship and not win a race in the first six? 1973-Benny Parsons; 1984 and 1996-Terry Labonte; 1985-Darrell Waltrip; and 1999-Dale Jarrett(3-25-2001)

Single Car Winner: Even though the #21 Wood Brothers team uses Roush chassis and engines, they are considered a single car team, and before Elliott Sadler's win at Bristol. The last time a single-car team scored a victory was by Ricky Rudd at Martinsville in September 1998(3-25-2001)

Hendrick Motorsports Double wins: Two drivers from Hendrick Motorsports have won at least one Winston Cup race for seven consecutive seasons. No other current multi-car team has done that.(Gordon 1994-2000, T Labonte 1994-1999 and Nadeau in 2000)(11-22-2000)

Four 1st Timers: The four first-time winners in 2000 was the most since 1988 when there were also four, those winners: Ken Schrader(Talladega), Alan Kulwicki(Phoenix), Phil Parsons(Talladega), and Lake Speed(Darlington). Parsons and Speed have not won in Cup since and are out of the series. Kulwicki died in an aircraft accident in 1993. Schrader is still active on the Cup circuit and has four career Cup wins. The winners in 2000: Dale Earnhardt Jr(Texas), Matt Kenseth(Lowes), Steve Park(Watkins Glen) and Jerry Nadeau(Atlanta)(11-21-2000)

Pontiac Win Record: Pontiac Grand Prix, which clinched its third NASCAR Winston Cup Driver championship and first since 1989, thanks to driver Bobby Labonte, could had set a NASCAR modern-era standard for itself with a victory in Atlanta. Pontiac had 11 wins this season, matching the highest number of wins in a season that was set in 1993(Rusty had 10 of those). Tony Stewart, Labonte's teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing, had a series-leading six wins this season, while Labonte had four and Ward Burton one(AP), The All-Time Pontiac Record is held in 1961 with 30. Ford holds the all-time mark of 48 in 1965 while the all time modern-era(1972 to present) is held by Buick with 25 wins in 1982(Winston Cup Updates)(11-18-2000)

Different Winners in 2000: There were 14 different race winners in 2000, the most in a single season since 1991 when there were 14, which is a record for NASCAR's modern era, which began in 1972.
The drivers who won in 2000: Dale Jarrett, Bobby Labonte, Jeff Burton, Dale Earnhardt, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart, Rusty Wallace, Mark Martin, Steve Park, Jeremy Mayfield, Ward Burton, Jeff Gordon and Jerry Nadeau. Terry Labonte, Joe Nemechek and John Andretti are the drivers who earned victories in 1999 and did not win in 2000. Two drivers who won in 1998 Bobby Hamilton and Ricky Rudd, have not won since(11-21-2000)

43rd Fact: Last driver to win from the 43rd starting spot was Fonty Flock at Raleigh, NC in 1953, the only other driver to do so was Johnny Mantz in the 1950 Southern 500

Backstretch/Provisional/Backup Car Winner: Only two drivers in the history of Bristol had ever won a race after pitting on the backstretch. Davey Allison(started 19th) in the spring 1990 race and Dale Earnhardt(26th) in the 2nd 1999 race, and now #21-Elliott Sadler who came from 38th, pitting on the backstretch and having to use a provisional to make the race in a backup car only the 4th ever Provisional Starter to gain a win in a Cup race(3-25-2001)

Provisional Starting Winners: Jeff Burton was the first driver to win from a provisional starting spot EVER at New Hampshire in 1999 and that is the farthest back any driver has won from since Kyle Petty won from 37th at Dover in June 1995(in 1995 37th was not a provisional starting spot). Bill Elliott also won from 38th spot in the 1988 Pepsi 400. In fact ALL the provisional starters for the race finished in the top 25 at NHIS(7-11-1999)UPDATE: Add Bobby Labonte as the 2nd ever provisional winner by winning the 1999 NAPA 500 at Atlanta(11-21-1999)UPDATE 2: Add Bobby Labonte as the 3rd ever provisional winner by winning the 2000 Southern 500 at Darlington(9-3-2000)UPDATE 3: Add Elliott Sadler as the 4th ever provisional winner by winning the 2001 Food City 500 at Bristol(3-25-2001)

Amazing Finishes: Races won from a starting position of 35 or worse in the history of
NASCAR

Championship and no poles? ever happen? With Dale Jarrett winning the Cup championship and not scoring any poles in 1999, I was asked, has it ever happened before? Yep, five times, most recently, in 1991 when Dale Earnhardt won the Winston Cup Championship with four wins and NO poles. It also happened in 1983-Bobby Allison; 1980-Earnhardt; 1973-Benny Parsons; and 1950-Bill Rexford(The Stock Car Racing Encyclodepia)(11-14/21-1999)

Stats: Only five times in NASCAR's modern era(1972-present) has the eventual champion not won by the sixth race of the season. Those champions were Benny Parsons in 1973, Terry Labonte in 1984 and 1996, Darrell Waltrip in 1985 and Dale Jarrett in 1999

Did ya know? When Bobby Labonte won the 2000 Winston Cup Championship, he
and his brother Terry, who won it in 1984 and 1996, have become the first brothers to do so in
Winston Cup history. There have been two father-son pairs; Lee and Richard Petty, and Ned and
Dale Jarrett AND Bobby Labonte is the first former BGN champ(since the series began in
1982, not counting the old Sportsman division) to win the Winston Cup championship(11-12-2000)